Asylum boat ads hit home, but not in target countries

Political reporter

"How effective it will be in getting to asylum seekers remains to be seen": Ad expert Neil Lawrence on the government's ads. Photo: Peter Cox

The Rudd government has spent nearly $3 million in six days on its asylum boats advertising blitz before a single ad was placed in the media of origin countries of refugees.

The first foreign ads in the "You Won't Be Settled in Australia" campaign began in 15 newspapers and Tamil-speaking radio stations in Sri Lanka on Friday.

The government is still seeking approval from the governments of Iran, Afghanistan and Indonesia to publicise its warning that asylum seekers arriving by boat will be sent to Papua New Guinea and will not be settled in Australia

The foreign advertising spending will come out of the Customs and Border Protection Service budget but Fairfax Media has learnt that the government exceeded its initial allocation of $2.1 million in less than a week.

Advertisement

The office of Immigration Minister Tony Burke said the total spending up to Friday was $2.7 million and would definitely continue to rise until the message was received that Australia's policy has been hardened.

Mr Burke said: "I don't resile from the fact that it is very likely I will approve more expenditure on that campaign."

He said he was willing to spend money on ensuring that fewer people take to the seas in a bid to get to Australia.

But the barrage of ads in the local media has led to questions about the campaign's effectiveness and accusations that it is nothing but a political message under the guise of public information to marginal seats where the boats issue is a vote turner.

Advertising expert Neil Lawrence, who created the successful "Kevin 07" campaign for Kevin Rudd's election win, said the effectiveness of the boats campaign and the value to the taxpayer will ultimately depend on whether it slows the boat arrivals.

So far more than 800 people have arrived since Mr Rudd announced the PNG plan.

Mr Lawrence said: "I think it has certainly been effective in communicating the new Rudd government's policy to the Australian population but how effective it will be in getting to asylum seekers remains to be seen."

But the Coalition and independent senator Nick Xenophon have been far more savage in their appraisal.

Senator Xenophon said the campaign was "completely cynical". "It's just a cheap way of doing party advertising for Labor," he said.

Senator Xenophon will on Saturday announce his intention to introduce legislation that if adopted would force any government found to have breached the guidelines on party political advertising to pay back the amount in triple.

Before coming to office, Mr Rudd described advertising by the Howard government as a "cancer on democracy" and pledged that all campaigns would have to be vetted by the Auditor-General and reviewed by the three-member Independent Communications Committee.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus waived any scrutiny of the boats campaign ''on the basis of extreme urgency''.

Between the budget in May and the election, the government plans to spend $74 million on advertising, including $21 million to promote the Gonski school reforms, $10 million to spruik the government's jobs plan, $10 million to advertise health services and $8 million promoting childcare assistance.

Promotion of the national broadband network will cost $5 million in that period.